Cassava Sciences plummets after its Alzheimer’s drug fails in trials

There are only two drugs for Alzheimer’s disease available on the market. / Photo: Shutterstock

On Monday, November 25, quotes on the small-cap biotech company Cassava Sciences plunged almost 84% after the company reported that its Alzheimer’s treatment had failed in a clinical trial.

Details

On Monday, Cassava Sciences stock lost almost 84% on the Nasdaq to $4.30 per share. This marked the biggest percentage decline on record, Barron’s reports, citing Dow Jones Market Data. Cassava Sciences is now at its lowest level since 2020. Trading volumes were nearly 52 times the average on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Cassava reported that its Alzheimer’s drug, simufilam, had failed to perform better than placebo in phase III clinical trials.

“The results are disappointing for patients and their families who are living with this disease and physicians who have been looking for novel treatment options,” CEO and President Rick Barry was quoted as saying in the press release.

Cassava had been studying the drug in three separate trials, but given the reported results, it plans to discontinue all of them. The company’s website has no information on other clinical trials. In addition to simufilam, its portfolio includes SavaDx, a blood-based diagnostic test designed to detect Alzheimer’s disease, which is still in early-stage studies.

According to the press release, Cassava is currently analyzing all of the data and assessing its next steps. CFO Eric Schoen says that the company is well-capitalized, with approximately $149 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the third quarter.

Context

Cassava is not the only Alzheimer’s drugmaker to face setbacks in recent trials: In September, Athira Pharma lost 78% of its market value after reporting that its treatment had failed to perform significantly better than placebo. Despite the results, Athira stated its intention to continue working on the drug.

At the end of October, ProMIS Neurosciences revealed that its Alzheimer’s drug candidate had proved to be well-tolerated and achieved adequate concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid. However, this was data from the earliest phase of clinical trials with healthy volunteers.

As of now, the U.S. FDA has approved only two Alzheimer’s treatments: Leqembi, jointly developed by Biogen and Eisai and green-lighted in 2023, and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, approved in 2024.